THOMAS  P1S  BRIDE  Nl 


^.> .'(?- 


^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^i{^ 


•  ^  _ 

Presented    hy\'<~^  S  \  CX(S^^^  V^-V^O  \^ 


BY    4211     .N5 

Nichols,  Thomas  McBride 

Preaching 


PREACHING 


^  Series  of  Briff  C^aptrrs 


BY 

THOMAS  McBRIDE   NICHOLS 

Pastor  of  the  Market  Square  Presbyterian  Church. 
GERMANTOWN,    PHILADELPHIA,   PA. 


p{)ilal)ielp{)ia : 
PRESBYTERIAN   BOARD   OF   PUBLICATION 

Witherspoon  Building,  1319  Walnut  Street. 
1904 


Copyright,  1904,  by  Presbyteriak  Board  of  Publication. 


2)ct)fcatton, 


TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  ONE  WHO  FOR  NEARLY  FORTY  YEARS 
DECLARED  WITH  UNSWERVING  FIDELITY  AND  UNFAL- 
TERING   TRUST  "the    FAITH    WHICH     WAS     ONCE 
DELIVERED   UNTO  THE  SAINTS,"  AND  WHO,  BY 
HIS    PREACHING,    LED    MANY    TO    CHRIST, 
AND  SOME  INTO  THE  GOSPEL  MINISTRY, 
THIS  BOOK  IS  DEDICATED. 


preface 

It  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  these  papers  on 
"  Preaching  "  do  not  pretend  to  exhaust  the  subject. 
Prepared  originally  for  "  The  Presbyterian  Jour- 
nal," they  are,  of  necessity,  abbreviated  and  con- 
densed; their  purpose  being  not  instruction,  but  sug- 
gestion. They  express,  however,  what  the  author 
regards  as  the  true  aim  of  preaching,  and  the  best 
methods  of  reaching  the  desired  results.  It  is  his 
hope  that  they  may  make  the  path  a  little  plainer  for 
some  already  in  the  ministry,  and  emphasize  for 
others,  who  may  be  in  doubt  as  to  their  vocation,  the 
importance,  the  dignity  and  the  claims  of  the  Chris- 
tian pulpit. 

T.  MoBride  N'iohols. 


Germantovm,  Philadelphia,  Pa., 
January,  1904- 


CONTENTS 


The  Importance  of  Preaching 
Doctrinal  Preaching 
Evangelistic  Preaching 
Expository  Preaching 
Extemporaneous  Preaching 
Qualifications  for  Preaching 
The  Indorsement  of  Preaching 
The  Joy  of  Preaching 


PAGE 

13 
21 
29 
37 
45 
53 
61 
69 


Untro^uctton. 


Preaching  the  gospel  is  the  most  sacred  work  to 
which  any  man  can  be  called.  When  the  preacher 
stands  up  before  his  people  to  speak  to  them,  he  rep- 
resents his  Master,  and  must  be  sure  that  he  delivers 
his  Master's  message.  Those  into  whose  faces  he 
looks  have  come  up  into  God's  presence  with  their 
needs,  their  questions,  their  burdens,  their  sorrows, 
their  perplexities,  and  are  waiting  to  learn  from  the 
preacher's  lips  what  God  has  to  say  to  them.  Even 
if  they  are  not  consciously  in  this  attitude  of  listen- 
ing expectation,  this  is  really  their  condition,  and  it 
is  the  preacher's  privilege  and  duty  to  give  them 
what  they  need. 

Dr.  rairbaim,  in  one  of  his  books,  tells  of  a  young 
man  of  ability  and  genius,  who  had  gone  through  his 
course  of  training  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  teachers, 
but  who,  when  the  time  came  for  him  to  preach, 
shrank  from  the  responsibility.  When  for  the  first 
time  he  stood  up  in  a  pulpit  and  looked  into  the  eager 


10  Introduction. 

faces  of  the  people  before  him,  and  thought  of  their 
needs  and  sorrows,  he  could  not  speak,  and  silently 
declared  to  God  that  he  would  never  stand  in  such  a 
place  again  until  he  had  something  to  tell  the  people 
which  would  really  help  them  and  answer  their  ques- 
tions. The  pulpit  is  truly  an  awful  place  for  any  man 
who  has  not  come  there  really  as  the  messenger  of 
Christ,  with  the  divine  message  for  the  weary,  the 
struggling,  the  sorrowing. 

The  author  of  these  chapters  has  written  out  of 
the  experience  of  his  own  successful  ministry.  What 
he  has  to  say  about  preaching  he  has  learned  in  the 
actual  work  of  preaching.  The  book  does  not  profess 
to  be  an  exhaustive  treatise,  or  a  course  of  Theologi- 
cal Seminary  lectures  on  Preaching,  but  treats  only 
of  certain  practical  phases  of  the  great  subject.  No 
preacher  can  read  these  earnest  words  thoughtfully 
without  being  freshly  impressed  with  the  sacredness 
and  importance  of  his  calling,  and  also  encouraged 
and  stimulated  to  the  better  doing  of  the  work  of  his 

ministry. 

J.  R.  Miller. 

PMladelpMa. 


Xlbe  Importance  of  preacbino» 


"  The  true  sermon^  the  utterance  of 
living  truth  by  living  men,  was  never 
more  powerful  than  it  is  to-day.  People 
never  came  to  it  with  more  earnestness, 
nor  carried  away  from  it  more  good  re- 
sults.''— Brooks. 


I. 
^be  llmportance  of  preacbinQ* 


There  is  no  question  about  it,  the  sermon  is  in  dan- 
ger. As  a  distinctive  feature  of  church  life  it  has  al- 
ready lost  something  of  its  grip.  Less  and  less  does 
it  dominate  the  services  on  the  Sabbath.  Less  and 
less  does  it  pervade  the  mind  and  regulate  the  con- 
duct of  the  congregation  during  the  week.  The  rea- 
sons for  this  are  obvious.  Much  more  is  demanded  of 
the  minister  to-day  than  fifty  years  ago.  He  is  now 
not  so  much  a  scholar  and  a  thinker  as  a  man  of 
affairs.  If  he  is  the  pastor  of  a  large  and  influential 
city  church,  a  telephone  and  a  stenographer  are  a 
necessary  part  of  his  equipment.  His  study  is  not  a 
retreat  for  meditation,  but  an  office  in  which  ecclesi- 
astical business  is  systematized  and  pushed  through; 
while  his  pulpit  is  less  a  teacher's  desk  than  a  sort 
of  captain's  bridge  from  which  orders  are  shouted 
to  the  crew.  His  success,  externally  considered,  de- 
pends largely  on  his  administrative  ability. 

This  fact  augments  his  pastoral  labors.  As  an  ex- 
ecutive officer  he  must  keep  in  constant  touch  with 
his  subordinates.  Only  as  he  is  much  in  the  homes 
of  the  people,  radiating  personal  magnetism  at  close 
range,  can  he  stir  the  members  of  his  church  to  ac- 
tivity and  elicit  enthusiasm  for  the  multiplicity  of 


14  The  Importance  of  Preaching. 

enterprises  which  his  fertile  brain  conceives,  A 
working  church  means  a  pastor  whom  neither  weari- 
ness nor  weather  can  keep  indoors.  And  we  have  no 
wish  to  belittle  the  value  of  this.  Yet  it  is  not  ac- 
complished without  a  tremendous  expenditure  of 
time  and  nervous  energy,  which  reacts  to  the  detri- 
ment of  the  sermon.  What  chance  is  there  under 
such  conditions,  for  uninterrupted  study  and  calm, 
deliberative  preparation  for  the  pulpit  ?  ISTow,  while 
this  may  be  an  extreme  statement  of  the  case,  it 
nevertheless  reflects  the  spirit  of  the  age,  by  which 
every  wide-awake  minister  is  to  some  extent  con- 
trolled. 

Moreover,  the  modern  church  service  is  clamorous 
in  its  demands.  The  trend  of  sentiment  in  the  di- 
rection of  liturgies  is  plainly  to  be  seen.  In  some 
cases  the  ritualistic  ruffles  almost  obscure  the  plain 
garments  of  former  days.  The  worshiper  claims 
rights  which  must  be  considered.  He  covets  a  larger 
vocal  part  in  the  exercises.  The  order  of  service 
must  be  so  arranged  that  something  new  will  be  do- 
ing every  five  minutes.  Music  by  the  choir  is  called 
for  at  frequent  intervals.  Movement  and  variety  are 
the  prime  essentials.  This  is  the  tendency  of  the 
times,  and  is  perhaps  inevitable.  As  we  live  at  high 
tension  all  the  week,  it  is  hardly  to  be  expected  that 
we  will  settle  down  on  Sunday.  But  the  sermon  suf- 
fers. Elbowed  roughly  on  the  left  and  crowded 
badly  on  the  right,  it  must  push  for  a  place.  Often  a 
clock  in  full  view  allows  the  congregation  to  keep 
tab  on  the  flying  minutes,  and  the  minister  is  soon 


The  Importance  of  Preaching.  15 

made  aware  of  his  error,  if  by  chance  he  oversteps 
the  limits  prescribed. 

So  it  has  come  to  pass  that  with  less  time  for  prep- 
aration, and  with  less  chance  to  preach,  the  modem 
clergyman  is  in  danger  of  supposing  that  scholarly  at- 
tributes are  at  a  discount  and  that  preaching  is  af- 
ter all  an  unimportant  and  insignificant  part  of  his 
work.  And  if  once  that  notion  becomes  imbedded 
in  the  mind  of  the  ministry,  the  sermon  is  doomed, 
and  the  department  of  homiletics  in  our  theological 
seminaries  will  give  way  to  a  chair  of  ecclesiastical 
technique,  filled  by  some  past-master  in  the  art  of  or- 
ganizing raw  material  and  superintending  the  mani- 
fold details  of  congregational  activity.  This  would 
be  most  unfortunate.  For,  after  all,  the  chief  func- 
tion of  the  ministry  is  teaching.  We  may  say  that, 
without  minimizing  in  the  least,  the  significance  of 
other  functions.  A  pastor  and  an  organizer,  a  min- 
ister must  be;  but  first  of  all  a  preacher.  The  last 
command  of  Christ  was  not  "  Go  ye  into  all  tbe 
world,  and  organize  Dorcas  societies  and  mission 
bands,"  but  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach 
the  gospel." 

No  congregation  can  grow  in  grace,  or  become  a 
vigorous  and  forceful  element  in  the  life  of  the  com- 
munity, unless  it  is  regularly  and  constantly  fed  on 
the  strong  meat  of  the  Word  of  God.  It  may  be 
trained  to  a  certain  proficiency  in  ecclesiastical  gym- 
nastics; it  may  man  and  officer  twenty  or  thirty  sep- 
arate circles  and  committees,  but  if  it  is  not  nurtured 
on  the  Bread  of  Life,  there  mil  be  no  vitality,  no 


16  The  Importance  of  Preaching. 

stability  in  the  work.  Speaking  comparatively,  there- 
fore, we  hold  preaching  to  be  "  the  one  thing  need- 
ful." The  very  choicest  of  the  minister's  intellectual 
and  spiritual  life  must  be  poured  into  it  unstint- 
ingly.  'No  ordinary  demands  upon  him  should  be  al- 
lowed to  interfere  with  it.  If  circumstances  conspire 
to  defeat  preparation  at  any  given  time,  better  a 
good  old  sermon  than  a  poor  new  one.  There  is  more 
nutriment  in  a  warmed-over  steak  than  in  a  fresh 
brew  of  gruel. 

And  as  to  the  church  service,  we  regard  the  ser- 
mon as  the  centralizing  fact.  The  preliminary  ex- 
ercises should  lead  toward  it;  the  concluding  exer- 
cises should  deepen  and  fix  the  impressions  made  by 
it.  If  an  extra  five  minutes  is  really  needed  to  round 
out  the  treatment  of  some  vital  theme,  let  us  excise 
an  anthem  rather  than  curtail  the  sermon.  The  min- 
ister is,  more  than  anything  else,  a  herald  of  good  tid- 
ings. Give  him  a  chance  to  put  the  trumpet  to  his 
lips.  Let  his  message  be  heard  in  full.  If  he  is  con- 
scientious in  the  pulpit,  he  will  not  leave  the  rest  of 
his  work  undone.  Indeed,  the  rest  follows  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course.  Pastoral  effort  is  simply  personal, 
hand-to-hand  application  of  the  sermon.  Organiza- 
tion is  no  more  than  a  practical  endeavor  to  dovetail 
the  truth  already  proclaimed,  in  with  the  needs  of 
the  community  and  the  world. 

The  minister  will  ask  no  better  model  than  the 
Master;  and  Christ's  first  concern  was  to  teach  the 
multitudes.  His  miracles  were  incidental.  Mco- 
demus  was  attracted  to  Him,  not  by  His  marvelous 


The  Importance  of  Preaching.  17 

works,  but  because  he  recognized  in  Him  "  a  teacher 
come  from  God."  The  men  of  Capernaum  gaped  no 
doubt  when  the  unclean  spirit  was  cast  out;  but  be- 
fore that  they  had  been  astonished  at  Christ's  doc- 
trine, "  for  He  taught  them  as  one  that  had  author- 
ity." And  in  their  amazement  at  the  miracle,  they 
did  not  omit  to  connect  it  by  way  of  authentication, 
with  the  "  new  doctrine  "  He  proclaimed. 

The  apostles  followed  hard  upon  the  heels  of  Jesus 
in  this  matter.  After  the  death  of  Stephen,  "  they 
that  were  scattered  abroad,  went  everywhere  preach- 
ing the  word."  And  we  have  as  much  need  to  give 
the  sennon  a  fundamental  place  to-day.  Why  do  we 
preach  ?  For  two  reasons.  We  wish  to  save  sinners; 
we  wish  also  to  develop  Christians.  One  or  both  of 
these  objects  the  preacher  always  has  in  mind. 

"  The  world  lieth  in  wickedness."  We  touch  el- 
bows every  day  with  the  impenitent.  Men  and  wo- 
men, careless  of  eternal  interests,  are  absorbing 
themselves  in  the  business  of  time  and  the  pleasures 
of  the  body,  and  meanwhile  the  day  of  judgment  is 
just  ahead.  Therefore,  we  preach  "  Jesus  Christ  and 
Him  crucified."  We  lift  the  Cross  into  prominence 
that  men  may  look  and  live.  We  emphasize  man's 
sin  and  man's  accountability;  but  over  against  those 
appalling  facts  we  place  the  grace  of  God  in  the  gos- 
pel of  His  Son ;  and  as  the  ambassadors  of  Christ,  we 
beseech  men  to  be  reconciled  to  God. 

But  our  message  is  also  to  the  Church.  Here  are 
Christians  whose  needs  are  numerous  and  insistent. 
They  must  be  comforted  in  sorrow,  braced  against 


18  The  Importance  of  Preaching. 

temptation,  strengthened  for  duty,  instructed  in  ser- 
vice, urged  to  exercise  their  talents  to  the  full. 
Therefore  we  preach,  holding  before  them  the  per- 
fect symmetry  of  the  life  of  Christ  as  the  inspiring 
example  for  every  child  of  God;  emphasizing  the 
virtues  and  the  beauties  of  His  character,  one  by 
one;  explaining  the  necessities  of  the  kingdom  and 
matching  the  diverse  parts  of  the  Christian  enter- 
prise to  the  peculiar  gifts  of  individual  believers;  en- 
deavoring to  so  set  forth  the  Word  of  God  that 
Christians  will  be  impelled  to  work  out  their  own 
salvation. 

So,  then,  whichever  class  of  hearers  he  addresses, 
the  preacher  must  first  instruct,  and  then  persuade. 
He  proclaims  the  truth  as  he  finds  it  in  the  Scrip- 
tures; he  interprets  it,  explains  it,  buttresses  it  with 
argument,  clarifies  it  with  illustration;  and  then  he 
drives  it  home.  He  appeals  to  men  to  heed  as  well 
as  hear;  to  accept  the  truth  and  act  upon  it.  If  need 
be,  he  plays  upon  the  feelings  of  his  audience  with 
all  the  resources  of  rhetoric  and  oratory,  convinced 
that  any  sermon  fails  of  its  object,  which  does  not 
move  men  to  receive  and  live  the  truth  which  it  de- 
<}lares.  He  will  not,  of  course,  be  satisfied  with  tears 
and  visible  emotion;  nor  will  he  be  disheartened  if 
his  hearers  go  home  apparently  unmoved;  but  he  will 
only  count  his  sermon  to  have  fulfilled  its  mission 
when  he  sees  its  fruits  maturing  in  lives  which,  under 
the  blessing  of  God,  have  been  touched  and  purified 
by  its  power. 


Doctrinal  preacbina. 


"  There  are  congregations  of  the  Lord 
before  whose  eye  the  vision  of  a  tull- 
orbed  Christianity  has  never  risen,  where 
only  fragmentary  and  disjointed  truth 
has  from  time  to  time  appeared,  and 
where,  by  so  much,  faith  without  a  hear- 
ing has  weakened  its  hold  on  men." — 
Eowe. 


n. 
Doctrinal  preaching* 


Broadly  speaking,  there  is  no  other  kind.  The 
primarj  object  of  the  sermon  is  to  inculcate  truth,  di- 
vine truth.  The  treatment  of  the  theme  may  be  text- 
ual or~  topical,  but  there  must  be  a  theme  to  treat. 
As  to  form,  the  discourse  may  be  propositional  or  ex- 
pository, but  it  must  formulate  facts.  The  method  of 
reaching  the  end  in  view  may  be  argumentative  or 
hortatory,  but  the  end  must  never  be  obscured. 
Whether  a  sermon  is  delivered  extemporaneously  or 
from  manuscript,  in  either  case  there  must  be  some- 
thing more  than  words  to  deliver. 

There  is  no  pattern  for  a  sermon.  Conformity  to 
type  is  impossible,  for  there  is  no  type.  Sermons  dif- 
fer as  widely  as  the  individuals  who  produce  them,  as 
the  occasions  which  suggest  them.  Each  one  is 
unique,  a  separate  creation,  to  be  judged  on  its  own 
merits,  and  not  side  by  side  with  others.  But  marked 
as  is  the  necessary  divergence  between  them  in  many 
particulars,  they  are  in  one  respect  alike.  Every  ser- 
mon is  an  attempt  to  declare  and  enforce  some  truth 
of  theology  or  morals,  as  set  forth  directly  or  by  im- 
plication in  the  Word  of  God. 

The  first  purpose  of  the  sermon  is  to  instruct.  The 
preacher  is  a  teacher.  He  indoctrinates  his  hearers. 
He  is  restricted  in  his  choice  of  subjects  as  the  lee- 


22  Doctrinal  Preaching. 

turer  or  the  editor  is  not;  but  one  thing  he  must  do, 
"  whether  men  will  hear  or  whether  they  will  for- 
bear," he  must  teach  them.  That  is  the  meaning  of 
doctrine — something  taught.  So  that,  broadly  speak- 
ing, true  preaching  is  always  doctrinal.  And  if  congre- 
gations are  restless  under  instruction,  if  they  insist  on 
being  entertained  rather  than  enlightened,  amused 
rather  than  taught,  they  will  ultimately  debauch  the 
sermon,  degrade  the  pulpit  and  strip  the  minister  of 
his  most  pertinent  and  essential  function.  We  som.e- 
times  tremble  for  the  future  of  the  sermon,  when  we 
see  how  loath  the  people  are  to  learn. 

There  is  however,  a  restricted  sense  in  which  the 
phrase  "  doctrinal  preaching "  is  ordinarily  used. 
Technically  speaking,  a  doctrine  is  a  statement  of  one 
of  the  fundamental  facts  of  theology,  one  of  the 
great  truths  of  Revelation.  The  doctrine  of  the 
Atonement  expresses  the  belief  of  the  Church  re- 
specting the  sacrifice  of  Christ.  Or,  to  narrow  the 
term  still  further,  we  may  say  that  a  doctrine  is  one 
of  the  essential  tenets  of  some  school  of  religious 
thought.  The  doctrine  of  the  Perseverance  of  the 
Saints,  for  example,  is  one  of  the  distinctive  dogmas 
of  Calvinism.  A  creed  is,  therefore,  a  collection  of 
concatenated  doctrines.  The  Westminster  Confes- 
sion is  the  authoritative  statement  of  Presbyterian 
belief.  It  contains  the  system  of  doctrine  which  we 
believe  to  be  taught  in  the  Scriptures,  the  basic 
truths  of  Revelation  arranged  in  logical  order. 

In  the  technical  sense,  then,  a  doctrinal  sermon  is 
one  which  is  devoted  to  the  consideration  of  some 


Doctrinal  Preaching.  23 

truth,  fundamental,  either  to  Christianity  itself  or  to 
denominational  interpretation  of  Christianity.  Have 
such  sermons  a  place  in  the  pulpit  ?  To  ask  the  ques- 
tion answers  it.  Put  to  the  congregation  the  query 
might  elicit  a  confusion  of  replies.  But  the  minister 
of  the  gospel  will  have  no  doubt  in  his  own  mind. 
His  duty  is  not  determined  by  congregational  tastes, 
but  by  congregational  needs,  and  those  needs  are  ap- 
parent. It  would  be  no  more  absurd  for  the  builder 
to  question  the  necessity  of  foundation  stones  tkan 
for  the  preacher  to  deliberate  as  to  the  advisability  of 
doctrinal  preaching  of  the  technical  variety. 

Knowledge,  intuitive  or  acquired,  is  the  starting 
point  of  experience.  Character  results  from  the  ap- 
prehension and  appropriation  of  truth.  Piety  feeds 
on  the  facts  of  Revelation.  There  is  a  sense  in  which 
we  must  know,  before  we  can  believe.  'No  man  can 
trust  Christ  as  a  Saviour  before  he  has  been  made 
painfully  aware  of  sin  and  of  guilt,  and  joyfully 
aware  of  the  grace  of  God  in  the  gospel.  The  head 
must  be  convinced  of  certain  basic  matters  before 
the  heart  can  be  convicted  of  sin.  "  J^ay,  I  had  not 
known  sin,  but  by  the  law,"  wrote  Paul. 

For  that  reason  it  is  imperative  that  the  preacher 
should  acquaint  his  hearers  with  the  granite  princi- 
ples which  underlie  the  Christian  system.  Let  men 
know  in  plain  terms  what  the  Bible  says  about  them. 
Tell  them  fearlessly  what  God  thinks  of  them  and 
what  He  has  done  for  them.  Elucidate  the  Cross. 
Explain  the  mission  of  the  Church.  Bring  out  into 
the  clear  the  fimdamentals  of  religion.    A  character 


24:  Doctrinal  Preaching. 

not  grounded  in  the  doctrines  is  like  a  house  built 
upon  the  sand.  Meat  makes  muscle,  milk  makes  fat. 
Preaching  which  sedulously  avoids  the  essentials  of 
faith  in  the  interests  of  any  system  of  ethics,  even 
that  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  will  eventuate  in 
a  limp  and  flaccid  piety.  In  the  order  of  revelation, 
Sinai  precedes  the  Mount  of  the  Beatitudes.  Christ 
came  not  to  destroy  the  law,  but  to  fulfill,  enforce 
and  apply  it. 

The  rampant  materialism  of  our  day  can  be  suc- 
cessfully resisted  only  by  a  stalwart  Christianity. 
There  is  a  type  of  piety  conspicuous  chiefly  for  its 
lack  of  spinal  column.  It  is  the  legitimate  offspring 
of  sentimental  sermonizing,  invertebrate  preaching; 
and  it  has  no  chance  at  all  against  the  rising  tide  of 
worldliness  which  threatens  the  Church.  We  need, 
therefore,  to  emphasize  and  insist  upon  those  massive 
truths,  which,  wrought  into  the  structure  of  charac- 
ter, will  give  it  stability  and  strength. 

Moreover,  denominational  loyalty  will  be  much 
encouraged  by  doctrinal  preaching.  Denominations 
are  not  a  necessary  or  a  permanent  part  of  the  divine 
order.  The  name  "  Christian "  is  more  inclusive 
than  the  name  "  Presbyterian."  The  banner  of  the 
Cross  invariably  takes  precedence  of  all  sectarian  in- 
signia. DenominationaHsm  has  of  course  been  wick- 
edly overdone,  and  every  true  disciple  rejoices  that 
a  reaction  has  set  in.  It  is  high  time  that  the  stone 
walls  and  the  barbed-wire  fences  were  removed.  But 
that  is  not  saying  that  we  are  ready  for  the  oblitera- 


Doctrinal  Preaching.  25 

tion  of  all  dividing  lines.  Denominations  have  un- 
questionably an  important  work  to  do.  All  things 
considered,  they  advantage  the  gospel. 

That  being  so,  it  is  incumbent  on  Christians  to  be 
loyal  not  only  to  the  kingdom  at  large,  but  also  to 
that  particular  portion  of  the  kingdom  with  which 
they  are  identified.  In  the  long  run  a  staunch  sec- 
tarist  will  accomplish  more  for  the  cause  than  will  the 
disciple  who  is  so  extremely  liberal  in  his  views  as 
to  have  no  point  of  attachment  anywhere.  This  is 
the  age  not  of  the  free  lance,  but  of  the  regiment. 
Only  organized  effort  counts.  And  as  the  kingdom 
kappens  just  now  to  be  organized  on  denominational 
lines,  a  man  must  recognize  that  fact  and  fit  himself 
in  with  prevailing  conditions  if  he  is  to  be  a  force  in 
the  religious  world.  And  the  better  he  is  acquainted 
with  the  idiosyncrasies  of  his  own  denomination  the 
more  loyal  will  he  be.  The  Christian  who  can  tell 
why  he  is  a  Methodist  will,  other  things  being  equal, 
be  more  interested  and  zealous  than  the  Christian 
who  cannot  tell  why  he  is  a  Presbyterian.  The 
preacher  should  therefore  bring  to  the  front  not  only 
the  general  truths  on  which  all  Christians  are  agreed, 
but  also  the  particular  truths  for  which  his  own 
church  stands,  which  have  fashioned  for  it  a  unique 
place  in  the  sphere  of  religious  activity,  and  which 
have  been  responsible  for  its  history.  That  is  why 
we  deplore  the  neglect  of  doctrine  which  is  so  char- 
acteristic of  modern  preaching,  and  plead  for  a  res- 
toration of  the  doctrinal  sermon  to  its  rightful  place 
in  the  Christian  pulpit. 


26  Doctrinal  Preaching. 

We  have  no  desire,  of  course,  to  emphasize  theory 
at  the  expense  of  practice.  The  two  are  indissolubly 
united  in  the  Gospel,  and  must  not  be  divorced  in 
the  sennon.  Dogma  does  not  exist  for  its  own  sake. 
Unfleshed  ribs  and  thigh  bones  are  neither  service- 
able nor  ornamental.  The  economist  may  reduce 
them  to  phosphates,  the  anatomist  may  utilize  them 
in  demonstrations,  but  otherwise  they  have  no  value. 
The  ultimate  aim  of  doctrinal  preaching  is  Christian 
living.  "No  sermon  of  this  description  is  complete 
then,  if  it  stops  short  of  application.  A  house  is  not 
habitable  as  soon  as  the  cellar  has  been  excavated  and 
the  foundations  laid. 

To  prove  the  truth,  that  is  the  first  step;  to  illu- 
mine it,  that  is  the  second  step;  to  apply  it,  that  is 
the  third  step,  to  Avhich  the  others  are  preliminary, 
and  without  which  they  were  scarcely  worth  the  tak- 
ing. The  preacher  is  not  satisfied  when  he  has  stated 
a  doctrine  and  defended  it.  His  propositions  must  be 
vitalized,  and  adjusted  to  the  needs  of  his  hearers. 
He  would  rather  curtail  the  proofs  than  crowd  the 
application.  He  only  visits  the  head  on  his  way  to 
the  heart.  The  practical  bearing  of  the  truth  is  the 
main  consideration.  He  builds  his  skeleton  with 
care,  knowing  well  where  the  occiput  and  clavicle  be- 
long. So  he  vertebrates  his  discourse.  But  to  string 
bones  on  wires  is  an  initial  process.  Only  when 
clothed  with  living  fiesh  are  they  truly  co-ordinated 
and  endowed  with  propulsive  power.  We  lay  stress 
on  doctrine,  therefore,  because  it  is  the  frame-work 
of  character,  the  backbone  of  life. 


lEvanQclietic  prcacbing. 


The  captive  to  release, 

To  God  the  lost  to  bring, 
To  teach  the  way  of  life  and  peace, — 

It  is  a  Christ-like  thing." 

— Mow. 


m. 
levangcUstic  prcacbtng. 


We  may  safely  assume  .the  necessity  of  doctrinal 
preaching.  But  is  there  any  choice  between  doc- 
trines? Among  the  truths  which  loom  large  along 
the  horizon  of  Revelation,  is  one  more  conspicu- 
ous than  another?  Yes;  for  the  preacher's  pur- 
pose, the  atonement  claims  pre-eminence.  Logically 
estimated,  theology  is  not  Christocentric,  as  some 
have  argued.  The  superstructure  of  any  creed  must 
rest  back  upon  the  divine  decree.  The  sovereignty 
of  God  is  the  only  anchorage  for  those  who  are 
"  carried  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine."  But 
in  the  pulpit,  the  truths  we  hold  in  solution  should 
crystallize  around  the  Cross,  and  when  that  occurs 
we  have  evangelistic  preaching. 

Unquestionably  there  is  a  popular  distinction  be- 
tween evangelistic  preaching  and  preaching  of  other 
sorts,  but  the  distinction  is  not  valid.  It  is  true  that 
some  sermons  are  addressed  to  the  saved  and  some  to 
the  unsaved,  but  apart  from  that  there  is  no  sharp 
line  of  demarcation.  The  false  impression  which  ob- 
tains has  been  fostered  by  professional  evangelism  of 
the  inferior  type.  A  familiar  text,  a  few  of  the  more 
general  facts  of  the  Gospel,  a  liberal  sprinkling  of 
illustrations  drawn  from  personal  experience,  several 
threadbare  anecdotes,  a  vivid  word-picture  of  the  fate 


30  Evangelistic  Preaching. 

of  the  impenitent,  an  impassioned,  perhaps  tearful, 
appeal  to  the  unconverted;  that,  as  many  suppose,  is 
evangelistic  preaching,  and  can  be  had  only  from  the 
regular  evangelist.  Let  us  hope  so.  We  have  no 
wish  to  minimize  the  good  accomplished  by  men  of 
God,  who,  having  no  settled  pastorate,  pass  from  city 
to  city  like  the  apostles,  expounding  the  Word  in  the 
power  of  the  Spirit,  reaching  some,  doubtless,  who 
hold  aloof  from  the  church,  or  whom  the  church  has 
overlooked,  ^o  friction  of  after-event  will  erase  the 
mark  made  by  Moody  on  the  life  of  his  day.  And 
Moody  did  not  take  his  mantle  with  him.  Elijah  is 
translated,  but  more  than  one  Elisha  perpetuates  his 
influence.  There  are  men  who,  under  the  pressure  of 
a  divine  call,  have  left  their  pulpits  to  "  do  the  work 
of  an  evangelist."  They  have  the  confidence  of  their 
brethren,  and  prosecute  their  diflficult  ministry  with 
the  indorsement  of  the  Church.  We  recognize  their 
gifts,  admire  their  courage  and  bid  them  God-speed. 
We  have  small  sympathy,  however,  with  the  irre- 
sponsible itinerants  who,  without  ecclesiastical  sanc- 
tion, wander  up  and  down  the  land,  a  Bible  bound  in 
limp  morocco  in  one  hand,  and  a  collection  basket  in 
the  other.  They  are  largely  to  blame  for  the  sus- 
picion with  which  evangelistic  services  are  sometimes 
viewed,  and  for  the  odium  which  in  some  minds  at- 
taches to  evangelistic  preaching.  These  men  may  be 
sincere,  but  they  are  misguided.  God  summoned 
Amos  from  among  the  herdmen  of  Tekoa,  and  bade 
him  prophesy.  There  are  too  many  herdmen  to-day 
who  imagine  that  their  name  is  Amos. 


Evangelistic  Preaching.  31 

We  combat,  then,  tke  notion  that  evangelistic 
preaching  is  of  the  peculiar  variety  instanced  above, 
and  that  it  cannot  be  expected  from  the  settled  min- 
istry. An  evangelistic  sermon  is  one  which  seeks 
souls,  which  emphasizes  the  cardinal  facts  of  the  Gos- 
pel in  the  hope  that  men  will  be  moved  to  repentance, 
and  induced  to  accept  Jesus  Christ  as  a  personal 
Saviour.  A  sermon  is  not  evangeKstic  because  of  its 
homiletic  form  or  its  methods  of  enforcing  truth,  but 
because  of  its  objective  point,  because  it  aims  at  con- 
versions. If  sinners  are  hit,  no  one  asks  whether  it 
was  done  with  bird-shot  or  arrows. 

The  truth  is  that  evangelistic  preaching,  instead 
of  being  confined  to  a  few  peculiarly  gifted  individ- 
uals, is  the  first  duty  of  every  Christian  minister. 
Ordination  is  a  farce,  if  the  candidate  for  the  minis- 
try is  not  looking  joyfully  forward  to  a  widening  op- 
portunity of  preaching  the  Gospel  to  sinners.  His 
high  ambition  should  be,  when  the  Corinthians  call 
him,  "  not  to  know  anything  among  them  save  Jesus 
Christ  and  Him  crucified."  He  has  mistaken  his  vo- 
cation if  he  does  not  regard  it  of  primal  importance 
to  draw  men  away  from  sin  into  fellowship  with 
Christ;  if  he  has  not  engraved  on  his  memory  as  a 
perpetual  spur  the  words  of  Solomon :  "  He  that  vsdn- 
neth  souls  is  wise."  He  will  not,  of  course,  regard 
souls  so  won  as  scalps  to  be  worn  boastingly  at  his 
belt,  when  he  makes  his  annual  report  to  the  Pres- 
bytery. Success  will  not  engender  seK-complacency. 
But  he  will  count  his  ministry  a  failure  unless  he  has 
gathered  here  and  there  some  fruit  which  may  be 


32  Evangelistic  Preaching. 

handed  over  to  the  Lord  of  the  vineyard  when  the 
sun  goes  down. 

To  this  end  his  preaching  will  be  largely  evangel- 
istic. No  one  can  develop  Christians  until  he  has 
Christians  to  develop.  Men  must  be  won  to  Christ 
before  they  can  be  made  like  Christ.  The  sinner  is 
an  unmined  diamond.  The  converted  sinner  is  a  dia- 
mond dug  from  the  dirt,  but  still  in  the  rough.  The 
finished  Christian  is  that  same  stone,  cut,  poHshed 
and  set  in  gold.  Evangelistic  preaching  provides  the 
raw  material  on  which  the  educational  forces  of  the 
church  can  operate.  It  is  the  starting  point  in  every 
active  ministry.  John  the  Baptist  preached  evan- 
gelistic sermons  in  the  wilderness.  Jesus  did  the 
same,  taking  for  His  text  the  words  of  the  forerun- 
ner :  "  Repent,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 
hand."  Peter's  sermon  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  was 
no  different.  Paul,  by  the  fervor  of  his  evangelistic 
preaching,  made  Felix  tremble,  and  almost  persuaded 
Agrippa  to  become  a  Christian.  We  are  not  sur- 
prised at  this,  for  evangelistic  preaching  is,  as  has 
been  said,  only  a  variety  of  doctrinal  preaching.  It 
lays  emphasis  on  those  truths  which  are  of  burning 
sisTiificance  to  the  sinner.  The  doctrinal  sermon  is 
right  along  the  line  of  evangelism.  On  the  one  side, 
human  depravity,  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  judg- 
ment to  come,  eternal  punishment ;  on  the  other  side, 
divine  grace,  the  love  of  God,  an  all-sufficient  atone- 
ment, regeneration,  faith,  repentance.  Are  not  these 
the  truths  best  calculated  to  bring  the  prodigal  to 
himself,  and  start  him  homeward?     ISTo  sinner  was 


Evangelistic  Preaching.  33 

ever  roused  from  his  indifference  by  vapid  sentimen- 
talities. The  only  preaching  which  can  grip  his  con- 
science is  the  proclamation  and  application  of  those 
searchino-  doctrines  which  center  in  the  Cross. 

Evangelistic  preaching  is  the  largest,  as  well  as 
the  first,  duty  of  the  minister.  The  saved  can  be 
thrown  in  a  measure  on  their  own  responsibility.  It 
is  a  fine  thing  to  drill  them  in  Christian  service  and 
we  will  see  to  that,  but  it  is  better  to  leave  them  un- 
polished than  to  neglect  the  unconverted.  There  are 
times  when  we  must  turn  our  backs  on  the  ninety 
and  nine  within  the  fold,  and  enlist  all  our  energies  in 
the  pursuit  and  rescue  of  the  lone  wanderer  on  the 
mountain.  It  will  not  do  for  the  preacher  to  remind 
himself  on  Sabbath  morning  that  the  greater  part  of 
his  congregation  are  professing  Christians.  He  wdll 
have  a  message  for  them,  surely,  a  hopeful,  inspiring 
message ;  but  what  of  the  minority  ?  Shall  he  give  no 
consideration  to  the  few?  One  sinner  saved  is  a 
bigger  day's  work  than  five  Christians  stimulated. 
As  a  rule,  then,  each  sermon  should  have  in  it  some- 
thing for  the  man  who  is  out  of  Christ. 

In  addition,  there  should  be  special  seasons  of 
evangelistic  preaching,  times  when  everything  else 
is  set  aside  in  favor  of  direct,  persistent  reaching  out 
after  the  unsaved.  Any  church  will  be  the  better 
for  devoting  a  week  or  two  every  winter  to  revival 
services.  And  we  hope  that  the  time  will  come  when 
the  average  pastor  will  feel  himself  competent  to 
conduct  such  meetings  without  the  aid  of  a  profes- 
sional evangelist.    Our  theological  seminaries  should 


34  Evangelistic  Preaching. 

train  their  students  for  this  sort  of  work.  The  weak- 
ness of  the  settled  ministry  is  often  at  just  this  point. 
Young  men  are  ordained  to  the  sacred  office,  realizing 
the  necessity  of  preaching  to  the  unsaved,  skilled  in 
the  mechanics  of  sermonizing,  yet  largely  ignorant 
of  the  methods  by  which  the  seeds  sown  can  be  made 
to  yield  an  abundant  harvest. 

We  have  said  nothing  so  far  of  evangelistic  preach- 
ing outside  the  church.  This  is  a  separate  depart- 
ment of  the  work,  and  might  well  claim  a  wider  place 
in  our  sympathies,  a  larger  share  in  our  activities, 
than  it  has  received  even  in  our  own  city.  Much 
might  be  written  of  the  duty  of  the  church  to  "  go 
out  into  the  highways  and  hedges."  But  so  far  as  the 
preaching  involved  in  such  an  effort  is  concerned, 
why  should  we  say  more  ?  It  scarcely  differs  from 
evangelistic  preaching  within  the  church.  Extreme 
simplicity  in  statement  may  be  demanded  by  the  lim- 
ited intelligence  of  the  audience,  but,  after  all,  the 
same  object  is  kept  in  view,  and  the  same  means  of 
reaching  it  are  employed.  We  regard  evangelistic 
preaching,  therefore,  as  the  acme  of  the  preacher's 
art.  It  keeps  him  close  to  the  Gospel,  in  vital  touch 
with  the  Cross;  it  holds  before  Christians  the  para- 
mount duty  of  Christian  living,  personal  work  among 
the  unsaved ;  and,  under  God,  it  is  certain  to  issue  in 
the  salvation  of  precious  souls. 


Brpositor^  preacbtng. 


'■'  Expository  preaching  is  not  the  evo- 
lution of  a  topic,  but  the  elucidation  of 
Scripture.  The  main  purpose  is  to  get 
at  the  real  meaning  of  God's  truth." — 
Setcall. 


IV. 

jgxpo0itor^  preacbing. 


Every  true  sermon  reaches  forward.  It  looks  be- 
yond the  hour  and  often  beyond  the  audience.  Right- 
ly viewed,  it  is  a  step  in  a  process,  not  a  finaUty.  If 
the  congregation,  charmed  by  beauty  of  diction  or 
fertility  of  illustration  commends  the  sermon,  it  is 
to  that  extent  a  failure;  a  work  of  art  perhaps,  a 
model  of  eloquence,  but  a  failure,  for  it  has  focussed 
attention  on  itself.  But  if  sinners  are  "  pricked  in 
their  heart  "  and  begin  inquiring  what  they  must  do 
to  be  saved;  if  Christians  are  startled  out  of  their 
apathy  and  show  themselves  "  zealous  of  good 
works,"  the  sermon  is  a  brilliant  success,  though  both 
text  and  argument  are  forgotten.  The  preacher 
knows  that  it  is  always  springtide  in  the  pulpit ;  that 
his  sermons  are  no  more  than  seed  sown  in  expecta- 
tion of  the  coming  harvest.  A  sermon  achieves  im- 
mortality not  by  being  printed  in  a  book,  but  by 
being  buried  so  deeply  in  the  hearts  of  men  that  it 
will  germinate  and  rise  again  in  the  quickened  con- 
science, the  energized  will,  the  consecrated  life. 

But  seed  sown  must  penetrate  the  soil.  Truth 
uttered  must  get  beyond  the  ear.  Unless  our 
preaching  is  of  a  character  that  will  arrest  attention 
and  secure  a  patient  and  considerate  hearing,  we 
might  as  well  sit  down.      There   lies   the  difficulty. 


38  Expository  Preaching. 

Congregations  are  not  as  receptive  as  we  would  like. 
Many  come  to  church  sadly  pre-occupied.  The  wor- 
ries of  Saturday  still  haunt  them;  the  problems  of 
Monday  already  confront  them.  Our  lives  are  so 
crowded  that  the  Sabbath  is  not  the  hiatus  it  should 
be.  The  laws  of  the  Commonwealth  may  manacle 
the  body,  but  our  unfettered  thoughts  browse  where 
they  please.  Some  of  the  audience  are  worse  than 
pre-occupied,  they  are  prejudiced.  The  man  whose 
mind  has  been  soaked  in  the  Sunday  newspaper  until 
it  has  become  a  saturated  solution  of  secularities,  is 
in  no  condition  to  profit  by  a  sermon.  He  is  drunk 
with  the  things  of  time  and  sense,  and  for  the  time 
being  is  in  conflict  with  spiritual  truth. 

It  is  of  first  importance,  therefore,  that  we  preach 
interesting  sermons,  that  we  present  the  truth  in  such 
a  fashion  that  listening  will  be  a  pleasure.  In  order  to 
do  this  the  form  of  the  discourse  must  be  considered. 
The  same  amount  of  lead  may  be  cast  in  a  round  bul- 
let or  a  pointed  projectile.  One  will  smash,  while  the 
other  penetrates.  So  there  are  different  moulds  in 
which  a  sermon  may  be  run.  It  is  possible  to  select  a 
truth,  state  it  in  the  form  of  a  proposition,  analyze  it, 
discuss  it  in  detail,  and  then  apply  it.  But  the  aver- 
age mind  is  not  trained  to  logical  analysis.  We  have 
so  many  thoughts  that  we  are  somewhat  embarrassed 
in  our  attempt  to  think.  Ideas  crowd  in  upon  us  in 
such  profusion  that  we  have  no  time  to  sort  them. 
Educational  processes  to-day  are  telescopic  rather 
than  microscopic.  They  bring  near  many  things 
which  once  were  out  of  reach,  but  fail  to  concentrate 
attention  on  details. 


Expository  Preaching.  o9 

Expository  preaching  takes  this  fact  into  consider- 
ation. It  remembers  that  the  present  generation  has 
not  been  taught  to  think  closely  or  minutely,  and  in- 
stead of  treating  exhaustively  an  isolated  verse  or 
clause  of  Scripture,  it  delineates  in  bold  outlines  the 
truth  contained  in  an  extended  passage.  An  exposi- 
tory sermon  bears  the  same  relation  to  preaching  that 
an  impressionistic  canvas  bears  to  painting.  It  de- 
lights in  broad  strokes,  and  lays  on  the  colors  with  a 
generous  and  splashing  brush,  for  there  is  no  need  of 
economizing  the  pigments.  When  half  a  chapter  is 
our  text,  even  the  most  wasteful  sennonizer  will 
scarcely  run  short. 

It  is  true,  some  are  prejudiced  against  this  variety 
of  preaching  because  of  the  abundance  of  material 
on  which  it  draws.  They  regard  it  as  a  labor-saving 
device,  and  believe  that  it  is  always  symptomatic  of 
ministerial  indolence.  They  suppose  that  the 
preacher,  being  unable  or  unwilling  to  dig  the  truth 
laboriously  from  a  single  verse,  takes  refuge  in  a 
paragraph  or  a  parable,  knowing,  as  has  been  whim- 
sically remarked,  that  "  if  he  is  persecuted  in  one 
verse  he  can  flee  into  another." 

ISTothing  is  more  remote  from  the  truth.  No  other 
kind  of  preaching  involves  more  careful  preparation. 
The  ordinary  sermon  interprets  a  few  words;  the  ex- 
pository sermon  interprets  perhaps  fifty  sentences, 
containing,  it  may  be,  a  dozen  separate  truths,  which 
must  be  explained  not  only,  but  unified.  If  the  pas- 
sage is  to  be  made  so  Imninous  that  the  hearers  can 
grasp  the  salient  points  mthout  mental  fatigue,  those 


40  Expository  Preaching. 

points  must  be  marshaled  in  orderly  array,  their 
mutual  relations  recognized  and  established.  Some 
central  fact  must  correlate  the  others.  There  will  be 
a  clearly-defined  plan,  of  course,  and  a  certain  prog- 
ress of  thought,  making  a  climax  possible,  just  as  in 
any  other  sermon,  but  the  difference  between  exposi- 
torj  preaching  and  preaching  of  other  sorts  is  more 
than  the  difference  between  a  long  text  and  a  short 
one.  In  proportion  as  the  sermon  ranges  over  a  wide 
stretch  of  Scripture,  it  must  exhibit  the  power  of  an- 
alysis not  only,  but  the  power  of  synthesis  as  well. 
Unless  one  has  the  selective  faculty,  the  genius  to 
perceive  the  essential  elements  of  a  narrative  or  an 
argument,  together  with  the  courage  to  reject  all 
material,  no  matter  how  attractive,  which  will  not 
lift  the  sermon  forward,  he  would  better  stick  to 
texts  of  limited  area. 

Those  then,  who  imagine  that  expository  sermons 
are  an  evidence  of  slothfulness  or  hasty  preparation 
on  the  part  of  the  speaker,  are  a  long  way  from  the 
facts.  The  real  reason  why  we  have  so  little  exposi- 
tory preaching  is  that  it  requires  more  labor  than  the 
average  minister  can  give  to  the  pulpit,  without 
slighting  the  rest  of  his  work.  He  simply  has  not 
time  for  it. 

Yet  such  preaching  is  worth  all  it  costs.  It  is  of 
value  to  the  preacher  because  of  the  thorough  and 
painstaking  study  of  the  Bible  it  necessitates.  It  is 
advantageous  to  the  message  itself,  which  is  clamor- 
ing to  be  heard  in  its  divine  fullness,  in  its  length  and 
its  breadth,  its  height  and  its  depth.     Some  of  the 


Expository  Preaching.  41 

minor  truths,  the  less  conspicuous  subjects,  which 
nevertheless  have  their  importance,  might  never  be 
approached  in  the  pulpit,  were  it  not  for  the  exposi- 
tory sermon.  But  more  to  the  point  is  the  fact  that 
this  style  of  preaching  helps  the  people. 

It  arouses  interest,  piques  curiosity,  sets  the  con- 
gregation wondering  what  is  coming  next.  If  the 
text  is  some  passage  in  Old  Testament  history,  or  an 
incident  from  the  life  of  Christ,  His  conversation 
with  the  woman  of  Samaria,  for  example,  or  one  of 
the  miracles;  if  we  find  material  for  the  sermon  in 
the  nan'ative  portions  of  the  Word,  we  put  the  audi- 
ence in  good  humor  at  the  start.  There  are  few  who 
do  not  like  a  story.  Men  will  swallow  any  quantity 
of  moral  teaching  if  it  is  incorporated  in  a  stirring 
novel.  And  somehow,  truth  lays  hold  of  most  of 
us  more  forcefully  when  it  springs  out  at  us  unex- 
pectedly from  the  shelter  of  some  incident  which 
spurs  the  imagination.  The  doctrine  of  the  Atone- 
ment will  appeal  far  more  powerfully  to  the  ordinary 
mind  if  presented  pictorially  in  a  parable,  than  if  dis- 
cussed academically  from  a  verse  in  Romans. 

Expository  preaching  also  familiarizes  men  with 
the  Bible.  It  broadens  their  acquaintance  with  the 
facts  and  the  factors  of  Revelation,  introducing  them 
to  scenes  and  putting  them  on  intimate  terms  with 
characters  of  whose  existence  they  were  scarcely 
aware.  This  method  inculcates  truth  wholesale,  not 
piecemeal;  in  allopathic  doses  rather  than  in  homeo- 
pathic pellets.  How  small  a  portion  of  the  Bible  wiU 
be  covered  in  a  year  if  we  preach  only  from  scattered 


42  Expository  Preaching. 

verses!  How  little  system  there  will  be  in  our  ser- 
monizing under  such  conditions !  On  the  other  hand, 
might  ^ye  not  by  expository  preaching  splendidly  il- 
lumine whole  sections  of  Revelation,  for  those  who 
have  neither  the  time  nor  the  training  to  expound  it 
on  their  o\vn  account  ? 

But  best  of  all,  sermons  of  this  sort  stimulate  men 
to  "  search  the  Scriptures "  for  themselves.  The 
more  we  know  of  the  Bible  the  more  we  want  to 
know.  It  is  a  book  which  lures  us  on  from  one  field 
of  investigation  to  another,  each  new  line  of  inquiry 
revealing  something  further  to  be  explored.  And  the 
wonder  of  it  is  we  are  never  weary.  We  may  not  be 
critics,  skilled  in  exegesis;  we  may  miss  some  of  the 
subtler  beauties,  certain  of  the  finer  shades  of  mean- 
ing, through  ignorance  of  the  Greek  and  Hebrew 
text ;  but  once  sympathetically  undertaken,  the  study 
of  the  Bible  becomes  an  absorbing  passion  which 
will  find  its  perfect  satisfaction  only  when  we  see  no 
longer  "  through  a  glass  darkly,  but  face  to  face." 
The  glory  of  expository  preaching  is  that  it  awakens 
an  enthusiasm  for  the  Word,  and  stirs  men  to  that 
personal  exploration  of  the  inspired  message  which 
will  be  worth  more  to  them  spiritually  than  all  the 
sermons  they  vnYl  ever  hear. 


]6itemporaneou0  preacbina. 


'"It  seems  to  me  that  to  speak  to  men 
without  notes,  out  of  a  full  and  earnest 
mind,  is  the  most  natural  and  eftective 
way  to  address  them;  the  way  most  fit- 
ting to  those  sublime  and  practical 
themes  which  the  preacher  of  the  Gospel 
has  to  present." — Storrs. 


V. 

}eitemporaneou0  ipreacbtng. 


The  impressiveness  of  preaching  is  determined 
largely  by  the  method  of  delivery,  back  of  which  lies 
the  method  of  preparation.  Some  sermons  are  writ- 
ten out  in  full.  Such  an  one  may  be  taken  into  the 
pulpit  on  paper  and  read  verbatim  from  the  manu- 
script; it  may  be  memorized,  and  recited  before  the 
congregation,  the  written  copy  not  appearing;  or  it 
may  be  thoroughly  mastered,  not  in  verbal  expres- 
sion, but  in  thought,  until  the  mind  is  saturated  with 
the  substance  of  the  discourse,  and  then  reproduced 
with  as  much  approximation  to  the  original  as  may 
be  possible  at  the  time.  Each  of  these  methods  has 
more  than  one  pulpit-Goliath  to  champion  its  cause. 

So  far  as  the  congregation  is  concerned,  however, 
general  sentiment  favors  the  absence  of  the  manu- 
script. It  may  be  in  the  head,  in  the  pocket,  on  the 
desk  at  home  or  in  the  fire,  no  one  asks  its  where- 
abouts, or  cares,  so  long  as  it  is  not  in  the  pulpit. 
Indeed,  in  some  churches  the  pulpit  itself  is  banished, 
lest  the  minister  in  a  moment  of  inadvertence  should 
be  tempted  to  read  a  sermon.  This  is  a  healthful 
symptom.  It  indicates  that  men  want  the  sort  of 
preaching  which  appeals  less  to  the  head  than  to  the 
heart;  that  they  realize  the  incompetence  of  apa- 
thetic emotions,  and  long  for  some  word  from  above, 


46  Extemporaneous  Preaching. 

which  will  trouble  the  waters  of  the  stagnant  pool. 
If  the  time  has  gone  by,  and  we  believe  it  has,  when 
Christian  people  can  be  satisfied  with  mere  acumen 
and  rhetorical  finish  in  the  pulpit,  if  they  are  really 
anxious  to  be  roused  by  the  truth,  if  they  prefer  the 
rough-shod  words  which  never  slip  on  their  way  to 
the  heart,  rather  than  the  sleek  words  with  rubber 
heels,  which  wake  no  echo  in  the  sensibilities,  we  may 
"  thank  God  and  take  courage." 

At  the  same  time,  this  popular  demand  for  the 
exiling  of  the  manuscript,  may  easily  prove  an  em- 
barrassment to  the  youthful  preacher.  A  written  ser- 
mon close  at  hand  is  a  strong  tower  into  which  he 
may  flee  when  harried,  and  from  which  he  may  fire 
his  guns  at  the  forces  of  iniquity  without  fear  of  dis- 
comfiture. Congregations  should  not  ask  too  much 
in  this  matter  of  delivery  from  the  young  man  who  is 
just  learning  to  preach.  He  has  his  own  troubles, 
and  a  consciousness  that  the  people  are  critical  of 
his  methods  will  only  augment  the  "  fear  and  trem- 
bling "  with  which  he  "  works  out  his  own  salvation." 
We  must  remember  that  he  is  dealing  with  "  the 
deep  things  of  God,"  and  that  only  long  experience 
in  the  pulpit  can  fit  a  man  for  handling  such  profound 
themes  easily  and  well.  A  certain  dignity  of  utter- 
ance is  essential,  and  if  the  sprouting  minister  feels 
lost  without  his  manuscript,  he  must  be  indulged. 
We  tie  the  tender  plant  fast  at  first,  that  it  may  ac- 
quire strength  to  grow  unsupported  by  and  by. 

Yet  there  are  so  many  advantages  in  direct  ad- 
dress that  the  preacher  should  grow  away  from  the 


Extemporaneous  Preaching.  47 

manuscript  as  soon  as  may  be.  At  best  it  is  only  a 
crutch,  and  a  crutch  is  a  confession  of  lameness  some- 
where. The  young  man  proposing  marriage  might 
be  more  coherent  if  his  proposal  were  written,  but 
some  one  else  would  get  the  girl.  The  lawyer's  im- 
passioned appeal  to  the  jury  would  lose  half  its  force 
if  read  from  a  type-written  copy.  What  sinner,  bur- 
dened with  guilt,  would  stop,  as  he  turns  his  face 
heavenward,  to  write  out  his  agonized  cry  for  par- 
don ?  Our  object  in  preaching  is  not  only  to  instruct, 
but  to  persuade.  Surely,  the  man  who  can  fasten 
his  eyes  on  the  people,  forcing  them  to  fasten  their 
eyes  on  him,  will  keep  in  closer  touch  with  his  audi- 
ence, will  be  more  sensitive  to  the  rise  and  fall  of 
their  feelings,  and  so  more  likely  to  reach  their 
hearts.  When  the  physician  administers  electricity, 
he  watches  the  patient,  not  the  battery.  Men  listen 
when  we  speak  to  them,  if  we  have  anything  to  say. 
But  reading  is  not  speaking.  It  is  neither  so  direct 
nor  so  natural,  and  some  men  will  pay  no  heed  to  the 
truth,  no  matter  how  weighty  our  words,  if  conveyed 
to  their  ears  through  the  medium  of  a  manuscript. 

Well  then,  shall  we  learn  our  sermons  by  heart, 
and  recite  them  ?  That  would  be  far  better  than  read- 
ing, but  it  means  a  dog's  life  for  the  preacher.  Few 
men  can  memorize  with  facility,  and  fewer  can  be 
sure  of  finding  at  a  moment's  notice  what  they  have 
thus  stored  away.  There  is  always  the  danger  of  for- 
getting. Memory  is  as  cranky  as  an  automobile.  A 
child  cries,  the  fire  engine  rattles  by,  a  restless  audi- 
tor drops  a  hymn  book,  something  out  of  the  ordinary 


48  Extemporaneous  Preaching. 

occurs,  the  speaker's  mind  is  diverted,  he  misses  a 
word  or  two,  loses  his  grip  oi^  himself,  and  the  rest 
of  the  discourse  is  irretrievably  ditched.  It  is  a 
laborious  and  dangerous  method. 

Still,  the  discipline  of  the  pen  is  indispensable  at 
first.  Until  the  preacher  has  acquired  a  suitable 
style,  and  gained  the  power  of  clothing  truth  in  ap- 
propriate words,  and  expressing  it  in  clean-cut  sen- 
tences, he  will  treat  neither  himself  nor  his  people 
fairly,  if  he  does  not  commit  his  thoughts  to  paper. 
And  if,  as  is  likely,  he  finds  no  time  for  outside  liter- 
ary work,  he  must  write  his  sermons.  ISTot  otherwise 
can  he  avoid  slip-shod  composition  and  rhetoric 
which  is  a  slur  on  the  English  language.  But  though 
his  sermon  is  written,  it  need  not  enslave  him.  Let 
him  familiarize  himself  with  it,  working  it  over  and 
over  in  his  mind,  until  its  plan  and  salient  ideas  are 
for  the  time  being  a  part  of  himseK,  and  then  let  him 
preach  it  as  the  Lord  gives  him  utterance.  This  will 
not  be  recitation,  but  reproduction.  What  it  lacks 
in  polish  it  will  gain  in  force,  and  though  bom  of  a 
manuscript,  it  proves  superior  to  its  parentage,  and 
may  rightly  be  called  extemporaneous  preaching. 

Yet  is  there  "  a  more  excellent  way."  By  this  we 
do  not  mean  extemporizing  in  the  literal  sense.  He 
who  goes  into  the  pulpit  without  adequate  prepara- 
tion, trusting  that  the  Lord  will  put  ideas  into  his 
head,  and  words  into  his  mouth,  will  soon  be  looking 
for  another  charge.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  continually 
helping  the  conscientious  preacher  out  of  tight 
places,  but  never  honors  either  laziness  or  incapacity. 


Extemporaneous  Preaching.  49 

Preaching  of  this  type  wearies  the  congregation  and 
insults  the  Gospel.  But  preaching  without  previous 
written  preparation,  except  as  one  jots  down  an  out- 
line for  future  reference,  preaching  in  which  the 
material  of  the  sermon  has  been  carefully  gathered 
and  arranged,  but  the  phraseology  left  to  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  moment,  that  is  preaching  par  excellence. 

It  is,  of  course,  the  method  of  maturity,  impossible 
in  any  degree  of  perfection,  until  one  has  been  long 
enough  in  the  pulpit  to  get  his  bearings.  It  requires 
a  thoroughly-disciplined  mind,  as  well  as  a  heart  on 
fire,  and  well  it  may,  for  it  is  royal  preaching.  In  or- 
der to  it  the  preacher  must  have  a  wide  and  verbal 
acquaintance  with  the  Bible,  so  that  he  can  quote  at 
will.  iJsTothing  so  clinches  an  argument  as  a  verse 
from  Scripture.  He  must  possess  an  abundance  of 
ideas,  the  fruit  of  extensive  reading  and  close  obser- 
vation. He  must  be  master  of  a  generous  vocabu- 
lary, in  which  virile,  meaty  words  predominate.  He 
must  acquire  some  readiness  in  concise  and  impres- 
sive statement,  marshaling  his  ideas  in  sentences 
which  ring  in  the  ear,  clear  as  the  notes  of  a  bell; 
which  fall  savagely  on  the  mind  like  the  strokes  of  a 
whip,  leaving  a  mark  behind. 

So  equipped  he  can  preach  as  no  one  can  who  is 
hampered  by  either  the  presence  or  the  recollection 
of  a  manuscript.  Structurally  considered,  his  ser- 
mons will  of  necessity  be  simple,  logical,  straightfor- 
ward, and  will  therefore  be  the  more  easily  digested 
and  assimilated  by  the  congregation.  But  not  being 
cut  and  dried,  they  allow  ample  margin  for  such  illus- 


50  Extemporaneous  Preaching. 

trations  and  arguments  as  may  be  born  of  the  occa- 
sion, under  the  inspiration  of  an  enkindled  audience. 
Moreover,  this  method  of  preparation  favors  the  an- 
ecdote, which  has  been  called  "  the  secret  of  pulpit 
popularity."  We  may  go  further,  and  say  that  it  is 
one  element  in  pulpit  power.  To  move  men,  sermons 
must  first  be  drenched  with  experience.  So  they  be- 
come pictorial,  vivid,  true  to  life.  Men  who  will  de- 
ride a  syllogism  will  listen  breathlessly  to  a  story, 
and  stories  cannot  be  read  or  recited,  they  must  be 
told.  The  extemporaneous  preacher  is  also,  more 
than  any  other,  en  rapport  with  his  hearers.  They 
realize  that  he  is  saying  what  he  feels  at  the  time, 
not  something  which  he  felt  days  before  and  em- 
balmed in  his  manuscript  or  his  memory.  Their 
thirsty  minds  respond  with  eager  attention,  when  of- 
fered a  draft,  not  from  a  bottle  of  carbonated  emo- 
tions, but  from  the  bubbling  spring  itself.  All  things 
considered  then,  we  believe  that  the  extemporaneous 
sermon  is  best  adapted  to  secure  the  desired  results, 
and  that  facility  in  this  kind  of  preaching  should  be 
the  ultimate  aim  of  every  Gospel  minister. 


(S^ualificattons  tot  ipteacbing* 


"A  great  many  methods  oi  making 
preachers  have  been  set  forth,  but  1  am 
inclined  to  think  that  preachers  are  God- 
made  before  we  get  hold  of  them,  and 
if  they  are  not,  anything  that  we  may 
do  in  the  case  will  not  furnish  the 
preacher." — Day. 


VI. 

(aualificatione  for  preaching. 


We  believe  that  the  gospel  ministry  is  the  noblest 
and  most  exalted  office  to  which  a  man  can  aspire. 
But  not  every  one  is  qualified  to  preach.  "  There 
are  diversities  of  gifts,  for  to  one  is  given  by  the 
Spirit  the  word  of  wisdom ;  to  another  divers  kinds  of 
tongues."  The  Christian  is  concerned  about  useful- 
ness. He  wants  to  know  how  he  may  best  advance 
the  kingdom.  The  young  man  who  has  pledged  him- 
self to  Christ  will  therefore  at  least  consider  the 
claims  of  the  ministry,  before  he  settles  down  defin- 
itely into  his  life-work. 

He  will,  of  course,  scorn  to  enter  the  pulpit  as  a 
last  resort,  deciding  the  matter  by  a  process  of  ex- 
clusion. You  will  not  hear  him  saying,  "  I  am  un- 
fit for  business;  as  a  physician  I  could  not  earn 
house-rent ;  I  have  no  taste  for  the  law ;  the  ordinary 
occupations  seem  closed  to  me;  there  is  nothing  left 
but  preaching."  On  the  contrary,  he  assumes  the 
paramount  obligation  of  the  ministry.  He  knows 
that  the  Lord  has  need  of  Christian  merchants,  and 
pious  politicians,  great  need,  but  he  is  also  aware  that 
the  fields  are  "  white  already  to  harvest,"  while  the 
laborers  are  few,  and  that  if  he  is  competent  to  swing 
the  scythe  he  ought  to  do  it.  From  this  standpoint 
he  attacks  the  problem,  and  it  is  only  after  weighing 


54  Qualifications  for  Preaching. 

the  case  with  care,  and  discovering  that  he  is  not 
adapted  to  the  pulpit,  that  he  permits  himself  to  look 
elsewhere  for  a  profession  which  will  focus  his  gifts 
and  energies.  As  this  may  meet  the  eye  of  some 
young  man  who  is  still  debating  the  question,  a  brief 
statement  of  some  of  the  essentials  to  success  in  the 
pulpit  will  not  be  out  of  place.  And  it  is  understood 
that  we  are  speaking  now,  not  of  the  social  and  exec- 
utive gifts  necessary  in  the  pastorate,  but  of  the  qual- 
ifications one  must  exhibit,  if  he  is  to  preach  the 
gospel. 

The  supreme  qualification  is  a  call  from  God.  If 
one  enters  the  ministry  for  any  reason  other  than  a 
rooted  conviction  that  God  wants  him  there,  he  de- 
serves to  fail.  Salary,  social  position,  the  deference 
of  modest  men,  the  admiration  of  dazzled  women,  the 
casting  vote  in  many  a  controversy,  all  the  other 
perquisites  of  the  ofiice,  and  they  are  many,  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  case.  "  Does  God  wish  me  to 
preach  ?  " — that  is  the  sole  consideration.  In  other 
days  a  man  was  not  left  in  uncertainty.  J£  in  some 
emergency  a  new  prophet  was  needed,  he  was  called 
and  commissioned  in  a  manner  so  unmistakable  that 
he  went  forward,  undisturbed  by  doubts.  The  mat- 
ter was  decided  for  him ;  escape  was  impossible,  even 
by  paying  the  fare  to  Tarshish;  what  could  he  do  but 
obey? 

When  Jesus  said  to  Simon  and  Andrew,  "  Come 
ye  after  me,  and  I  will  make  you  to  become  fishers 
of  men,"  they  straightway  forsook  their  nets  and 
followed  Him,  for  they  recognized  the  call.     When 


Qualifications  for  Preaching.  55 

Saul,  bKnded  by  the  white  light  from  heaven,  heard 
the  Lord  saying,  "  Arise,  and  go  into  the  city,  and 
it  shall  be  told  thee  what  thou  must  do,"  he  knew 
that  he  was  on  the  threshold  of  a  new  career,  and 
we  hear  no  more  of  the  letters  from  the  high-priest, 
which  authorized  him  to  arrest  and  bind  the  Chris- 
tians of  Damascus.  To-day,  however,  God  leaves 
the  matter  more  to  the  enlightened  conscience  and 
the  good  judgment  of  the  individual,  and  so  it  has 
come  to  pass  that  there  are  men  in  the  ministry  who 
might  better  be  making  garden.  The  supreme  quali- 
fication is  still  the  divine  call,  but  now  the  call  is  not 
so  much  audible  or  visible  as  providential. 

If  God  wants  a  man  to  preach  the  gospel,  He  will 
qualify  him  physically.  A  good  physique  is  impress- 
ive. A  sound  body  somehow  inspires  confidence. 
Strong,  clear  utterance  wins  a  hearing,  where  a  thin, 
discordant  voice  evokes  ridicule.  Poor  health  dis- 
counts the  truth.  The  condition  of  the  body  affects 
the  mind.  Sickness  fosters  a  jaundiced  view  of  life. 
No  man  can  appreciate  or  proclaim  the  splendid  sym- 
metry of  an  historic  creed,  whose  temperature  tops 
the  normal,  or  whose  joints  are  full  of  rheumatism. 
A  dyspeptic  preacher  is  in  danger  of  making  the  gos- 
pel indigestible.  Many  a  headache  has  found  its  way 
into  the  sermon.  If  the  minister  is  physically  de- 
pressed, he  unconsciously  radiates  from  the  pulpit 
an  influence  which  is  not  conducive  to  spiritual  vi- 
tality. It  is  reasonable  to  suppose,  then,  that  a  seri- 
ously deranged  constitution  is  a  bar  to  the  ministry. 

If  God  wants  a  man  to  preach,  He  will  qualify  him 


56  Qualifications  for  Preaching. 

mentally.  We  contend  for  an  educated  ministry. 
Illiteracy  in  the  pulpit  will  not  do.  Cheap  books, 
free  libraries,  abundant  school  facilities,  have  com- 
bined to  lift  the  masses  out  of  the  dense  ignorance 
of  earlier  times.  To  meet  the  demands  of  the  mod- 
ern congregation,  therefore,  the  preacher  must  be  in 
touch  with  the  significant  intellectual  movements  of 
the  day;  conversant  with  the  progress  of  thought.  The 
terminology  of  the  last  century  is  already  out  of 
date.  Moss-grown  arguments,  and  bald-headed  illus- 
trations, will  not  satisfy  the  present  generation.  We 
are  dealing  with  men,  and  with  women,  too,  whose 
expanded  minds  are  stored  with  all  the  rich  results 
of  the  latest  scientific  research.  We  must  meet  them 
on  the  same  footing. 

Moreover,  the  preacher  handles  the  weightiest 
truths  of  which  man  is  cognizant.  He  is  specially 
commissioned  to  interpret  the  Word  of  God,  to  in- 
struct men  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion, 
to  elucidate  and  apply  the  tremendous  facts  of  revela- 
tion. How  can  this  be  done,  unless  his  o^vn  mind 
first  grips  the  truth,  unless  he  is  so  endowed  that  he 
can  lay  hold  of  the  fulness  of  the  gospel,  intellectu- 
ally, recognizing  the  logical  relations  of  the  funda- 
mentals ?  It  is  one  thing  to  understand  the  plan  of 
salvation  sufficiently  to  become  a  Christian;  it  is 
quite  another,  to  have  such  a  consistent  and  compre- 
hensive grasp  of  the  truth,  as  will  enable  us  to  pro- 
claim it  so  clearly  that  others  will  understand  and 
become  Christians.  We  are  not  called  to  preach, 
then,  if  we  cannot  meet  the  educational  exactions  of 


Qualifications  for  Preaching.  57 

the  age,  if  we  do  not  apprehend  the  entire  circumfer- 
ence of  the  gospel,  or  if  we  have  not  the  ability  to 
impart,  succinctly  and  intelligibly,  what  we  know. 

If  God  wants  a  man  to  preach,  He  will  qualify  him 
spiritually.  We  are  speaking  now  to  Christians,  so 
that  personal  piety  is  assumed.  But  piety  alone  is 
not  enough.  One  must  have  also  a  vivid  realization 
of  the  spiritual  poverty  of  the  world.  It  is  so  easy 
to  gloss  over  the  ugly  facts;  to  enumerate  the  com- 
mercial opportunities,  the  intellectual  attainments 
and  the  social  benefits,  which  are  the  out-croppings 
of  our  magnificent  civilization ;  and  by  laying  empha- 
sis on  these  material  advantages,  to  hide  from  our 
eyes  the  moral  destitution  of  the  race.  But  the 
preacher's  eye  penetrates  this  veneer  to  the  cross- 
grained  wood  beneath.  He  sees  that  men  are  still 
bad  at  heart.  He  knows  that  wealth  and  education 
are  no  remedy  for  sin;  that  family  influence  and  the 
applause  of  men,  guarantee  no  one  a  place  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  He  is  sure  that  no  civilization, 
however  imposing,  can  endure,  unless  based  on  right- 
eousness, planked  with  principles  and  buttressed 
with  massive  timbers,  hewn  from  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ.  He  feels,  therefore,  that  as  a  minister  of  God, 
he  has  in  his  keeping  the  message  which,  for  its  own 
security,  the  world  must  hear. 

In  addition,  the  preacher  must  have  a  hunger  for 
souls.  As  the  passion  for  gold  absorbs  some  men, 
and  the  passion  for  power  absorbs  others,  so,  if  a  man 
is  called  of  God  to  proclaim  "  the  unsearchable 
riches  "  of    the  gospel,  all  lesser  ambitions  will  be 


58  Qualifications  for  Preaching. 

swallowed  up  in  his  longing  to  lead  men  to  Christ. 
Pitying  their  destitution,  distressed  by  their  peril, 
realizing  the  pricelessness  of  souls,  for  whom  the  Son 
of  God  thought  it  worth  while  to  die,  he  puts  all  per- 
sonal considerations  aside,  that  he  may  devote  him- 
self to  the  salvation  of  the  lost.  Like  Paul,  he  feels 
that  necessity  is  laid  upon  him,  and  exclaims,  "  Yea, 
woe  is  unto  me,  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel."  Then 
will  his  sermons,  shot  through  with  the  love  of  God, 
tinctured  with  the  blood  of  the  Cross,  be  evangelistic 
in  the  true  sense,  and  driven  forward  by  the  power  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  they  will  find  a  lodgment  in  the 
hearts  of  men.  Por  such  a  man  the  door  into  the  min- 
istry is  always  open.  His  preceptors  will  delight  to  in- 
struct him,  his  brethren  will  be  proud  to  ordain  him, 
and  congregations  will  be  eager  to  supplement  with 
their  own  invitations,  a  call  so  manifestly  divine. 


JLhc  1  n&or5ement  ot  ipreacbing. 


"  Whatever  strange  and  scandalous  ec- 
centricities the  ministry  has  sometimes 
witnessed,  this  is  certainly  true,  and  is 
always  encouraging,  that  no  man  per- 
manently succeeds  in  it  who  cannot 
make  men  believe  that  he  is  pure  and 
devoted,  and  the  only  sure  and  lasting 
way  to  make  men  believe  in  one's  de- 
votion and  purity  is  to  be  what  one 
wishes  to  be  believed  to  be." — Brooks. 


vn. 
Zbc  1ln^or0cment  of  jpreacbing* 


The  man  behind  the  sermon — that  is  our  theme. 
1^0  bank  will  accept  a  note  improperly  indorsed. 
The  name  on  the  back  guarantees  the  face,  and  con- 
verts the  paper  into  cash.  Few  men  discern  any  line 
of  cleavage  between  the  preaching  and  the  preacher. 
The  influence  of  the  sermon  is,  in  great  measure,  a 
matter  of  personality.  We  do  not  take  it  at  its  face 
value  until  we  have  ascertained  what  sort  of  a  man 
stands  behind  it.  A  discourse  may  be  homiletically 
correct,  doctrinally  sound,  rhetorically  brilliant,  ora- 
torically  cogent;  but  it  is  no  more  than  "sounding 
brass  "  in  our  ears  unless  backed  by  character.  The 
intellect  may  be  stimulated,  but  the  heart  will  not  be 
deeply  moved  if  the  preacher's  life  does  not  become 
sponsor  for  his  words. 

Action  interprets  diction.  Only  conduct  is  last- 
ingly eloquent.  Reputation,  rather  than  rhetoric, 
makes  or  mars  the  sermon.  If  the  people  trust  their 
minister,  they  will  hear  and  heed  him,  though  he  be 
not  a  pulpit  star;  but  losing  confidence  in  what  he  is, 
they  lose  confidence  in  what  he  says.  It  is  most  im- 
portant, therefore,  that  he  should  not  only  preach 
well  on  Sunday,  but  also  "  walk  circumspectly  "  on 
Monday.  There  are  qualifications,  physical,  mental 
and  spiritual,  lacking  which,  no  man  should  enter  the 


62  The  Indorsement  of  Preaching. 

Okristian  pulpit.  But  no  matter  how  highly  he  may 
be  gifted,  let  him  not  imagine  that  he  is  done  with 
the  sermon  when  he  has  delivered  it.  Clinch  the 
nail,  and  it  will  stay.  Sermons  are  clinched  by  the 
week-day  conduct  of  the  man,  who  on  Sabbath  sunk 
them  to  the  head  in  the  hearts  of  his  hearers. 

If  the  preacher  would  indorse  his  preaching,  he 
must  practise  it.  That  is  a  reasonable  demand.  The 
medicine  he  prescribes  for  others,  he  needs  equally 
himself.  He  does  not  differ  from  the  ordinary  run  of 
men.  If  he  would  be  a  spiritual  oculist,  he  must  re- 
move with  scrupulous  care  the  beam  from  his  own 
eye,  before  he  can  hope  to  eradicate  even  motes  from 
his  patient's  eyes.  If  Satan  reigns  in  his  heart,  he  is 
thereby  deprived  of  any  pull  he  might  otherwise 
have  had  on  the  imps  which  inhabit  the  hearts  of 
others.  ]^o  pulpit  lifts  a  man  beyond  the  reach  of 
temptation  or  insures  integrity  per  se.  One  may  fol- 
low a  holy  calling  and  be  himself  unholy.  Environ- 
ment alone  makes  no  man  better  than  his  fellows. 
There  is  nothing  in  his  profession  to  inoculate  a  min- 
ister against  the  microbes  of  sin. 

He  needs,  as  much  as  any  man,  to  "  fight  the  good 
fight  of  faith  "  on  his  own  account.  And  just  in  pro- 
portion as  his  pulpit  renders  him  conspicuous,  it  is 
incumbent  on  him  to  conquer  his  personal  diabolism 
for  the  sake  of  others;  because  only  as  they  see  him 
putting  off  "  the  old  man,"  and  putting  on  the  new, 
will  they  be  spurred  to  attempt  the  same.  The  doc- 
trines he  proclaims  he  will  be  careful,  therefore,  to 
make  the  foundation  stones    of    his  own  character. 


The  Indorsement  of  Preaching.  63 

The  principles  he  indorses  he  will  endeavor  to  build 
into  the  structure  of  his  own  life.  He  will  recom- 
mend no  system  of  ethics  which  he  has  not  subjected 
to  th^^  test  of  experience. 

It  is  essential  that  he  should  be  always  insisting  on 
ideals  to  which  he  has  not  himself  attained,  neverthe- 
less he  will  be  striving  to  attain  them;  and  when  men 
see  that  he  is  reaching  out,  it  may  be  that  they  will 
reach  out  too.  There  is  no  influence  so  potent  as  the 
influence  of  a  consecrated  Ufe.  "  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted 
up  from  the  earth,  wdll  draw  all  men  unto  Me,"  said 
Christ.  By  what  magnetism  is  this  miracle  of  at- 
traction being  wrought  out  before  our  eyes  to-day? 
By  the  magnetism  of  the  sublime  unselfishness,  the 
exalted  heroism,  the  unsullied  holiness  of  Him  who 
in  His  perfect  love  for  men,  died  for  them  on  the 
Cross.  We  regard  it  as  fundamental,  therefore,  that 
a  minister  should  be  what  he  would  have  others  be- 
come. 

If  the  preacher  would  endorse  his  preaching,  he 
must  "  abstain  from  all  appearance  of  evil."  He  will 
not  only  exemplify  in  conduct  the  creed  and  the 
code  he  inculcates,  he  will  also  avoid  as  far  as  possible, 
those  contacts  with  the  world  which  would  subject 
him  to  censure.  His  calling  does  not  put  him  above 
suspicion  any  more  than  it  puts  him  above  tempta- 
tion. Unfortunately  for  his  peace  of  mind,  the  min- 
istry is  not  surrounded  by  an  atmosphere  impervious 
to  criticism. 

There  are  ill-natured  persons  in  plenty  who  are 
watching  eagerly  for  a  chance  to  find  fault.    Let  the 


64  The  Indorsement  of  Preaching. 

minister  approach.,  no  matter  how  innocently,  the  line 
which  divides  good  from  evil,  and  they  will  ride  over 
him  roughshod  with  their  caustic  comments.  Con- 
duct which  they  would  wink  at  in  others  they  unspar- 
ingly condemn  in  him.  They  have  one  standard  of 
morals  for  themselves,  but  a  far  higher  one  for  him. 
Never  stopping  to  ascertain  his  motives,  or  to  inves- 
tigate tke  circumstances  in  the  case,  they  hurry  to 
expose  his  alleged  hypocrisy,  anxious  to  prove  him  in 
the  wrong  without  delay,  urged  on,  apparently,  by 
the  fear  that  if  he  has  any  chance  at  all,  he  will  prove 
himself  in  the  right.  The  uncharitableness  of  the 
world  will  therefore  keep  the  minister  constantly  on 
the  alert,  and  that  is  well.  It  is  altogether  desirable 
that  he  "  have  a  good  report  of  them  which  are  with- 
out, in  all  things  showing  himself  a  pattern  of  good 
works." 

To  this  end  he  will  be  careful  of  his  associates.  He 
may  mingle  freely  with  the  vicious  and  the  ungodly 
to  do  them  good,  but  he  may  not  make  them 
his  friends  and  confidants.  So  long  as  his  relations 
with  worldly-minded  men  are  ofiicial,  no  one  will  ob- 
ject; but  the  moment  those  relations  become  per- 
sonal, giving  others  reason  to  suspect  that  he  finds 
pleasure  in  the  companionship  of  the  irreligious,  that 
moment  men  begin  to  discount  his  sincerity. 

He  will  be  careful,  also,  of  his  recreations.  The 
questionable  amusements  are  not  for  him.  "  Un- 
spotted from  the  world  "  is  the  motto  which  deter- 
mines him.  He  needs  physical  exercise,  and  no  one 
will  grudge  him  his  bicycle  or  golf  sticks.     His  pro- 


The  Indorsement  of  Preaching.  65 

fession  does  not  debar  him  from  an  intelligent  inter- 
est and  participation  in  outdoor  sports.  But  it  will 
be  just  as  well  for  him  not  to  be  known  as  an  expert 
in  any  game,  lest  men  say  that  he  cultivates  his  body 
at  the  expense  of  his  congregation.  Any  indications 
of  indolence,  or  neglect  of  the  plain  obligations  of  his 
calling  will  be  fatal  to  his  influence.  Even  in  the 
matter  of  dress,  while  he  may  not  always  wish  to  ad- 
vertise his  ordination  by  the  cut  of  his  vest  or 
the  color  of  his  tie,  he  will  at  least  avoid  loud  and 
conspicuous  attire.  He  has  a  loftier  mission  in  life 
than  to  pose  as  a  tailor's  model;  and  he  has  no  desire 
that  men  should  regard  him  chiefly  for  his  clothes. 

If  the  preacher  would  indorse  his  preaching  he  must 
exhibit  a  certain  seriousness  of  demeanor.  Paul  re- 
minded Timothy  of  the  need  of  soberness  in  a  bishop, 
but  he  was  not  referring  to  intoxicants.  He  had  in 
mind  that  gravity  of  behavior  which  indicates  a  true 
apprehension  of  the  significance  of  life.  He  who 
realizes  that  this  world  is  not  his  home,  and  that  by 
his  conduct  here  he  is  determining  his  destiny  here- 
after, will  not  wear  a  perpetual  grin.  Especially  will 
he  be  sobered  by  the  thought  that  his  life  is  sure  to 
swing  other  lives  either  away  from,  or  nearer,  God. 
This  is  pre-eminently  the  minister's  position.  He  is 
charged  with  "  the  cure  of  souls,"  a  responsibility  be- 
neath which  he  staggers  sometimes,  and  almost  falls. 
Is  the  gaiety  of  the  world  for  him?  Shall  he  go 
through  life  whistUng,  jesting,  laughing,  careless  of 
the  curse  of  sin  ?  He  deals  with  the  problems  of  life 
and  death.    He  walks  with  God,  and  such  fellowship 


66  The  Indorsement  of  Preaching. 

is  no  inducement  to  frivolity.     He  bears  the  ark  of 
the  covenant,  and  that  necessitates  a  steady  pace. 

He  does  not  robe  himself  with  mock  solemnity.  He 
is  alive  to  the  ludicrous,  no  doubt;  he  laughs,  on  ac- 
casion,  as  heartily  as  any;  his  enjoyment  of  life  is  as 
keen  as  it  is  innocent,  for  he  is  no  ascetic;  but  he  does 
not  aspire  to  be  a  humorist  or  cultivate  the  funny 
side.  Whatever  his  surface  emotions  may  be  from 
time  to  time,  the  undercurrent  of  his  life  is  an  abiding 
seriousness  of  thought  and  purpose.  He  feels  that 
levity  or  flippancy  on  his  part  will  inevitably  discredit 
the  truth  he  preaches,  and  he  endeavors  by  his  own 
earnestness  to  impress  others  with  his  implicit  con- 
fidence in  the  cause  he  represents,  and  at  the  same 
time,  with  the  high  importance  of  that  cause.  So 
he  adorns  not  only,  but  indorses,  "  the  doctrine  of 
God  our  Saviour  in  all  things."  So,  in  his  "  walk  and 
conversation,"  he  recommends  the  gospel  which  it  is 
his  joy  to  preach. 


Ubc  5op  of  preacbtnfl. 


"And  they  that  be  teachers  shall 
shine  as  the  brightness  oi  the  firma- 
ment; and  they  that  tiirn  many  to 
righteousness  as  the  stars  for  ever  and 
ever." — Daniel. 


vm. 
^be  30^  of  preacbiuG. 


No  career  is  a  sinecure.  Let  our  ambition  be 
what  it  may,  success  is  bought  with  tears  and  blood. 
Harvests  are  expensive,  always  and  everywhere. 
Wealth,  reputation,  culture,  character,  all  must  be 
paid  for  in  some  kind  of  coin;  and  spiritual  results, 
while  they  are  less  conspicuous  and  dazzling,  cost  as 
much  as  any.  He  who  would  gather  the  Master's 
wheat  into  the  gamer  must  bear  "  the  burden  and 
the  heat  of  the  day."  Preaching,  like  every  kind  of 
service,  has  its  rough  side.  Those  who  think  other- 
wise have  never  preached.  The  plow  tires  the  mus- 
cles, the  pulpit  drains  the  sympathies;  and  heartache 
is  worse  than  backache.  Those  who  contemplate  the 
ministry  would  do  well,  therefore,  to  figure  on  the 
price. 

Yet  there  are  compensations.  Life  is  nicely  bal- 
anced after  all.  God  is  in  the  habit  of  requiting 
losses.  What  He  subtracts  at  one  point  He  adds  at 
another.  Providence  makes  amends  in  the  long  run, 
insists  on  equilibrium,  abhors  the  imfinished,  clips 
ragged  edges,  squares  all  accounts. 

This  principle  of  adjustment  is  more  or  less  appar- 
ent in  all  divine  operations;  in  nature,  in  social  life, 
in  the  experience  of  the  individual.  Especially  does 
it  come  to  the  fore  in  the  case  of  conduct.    Goodness 


70  The  Joy  of  Preaching. 

reaps  goodness.  If  we  spend  our  energies  in  loving 
and  helping  men,  they  will  love  and  help  us  in  re- 
turn. ''  Cast  thy  bread  upon  the  waters:  for  thou 
shalt  find  it  after  many  days."  Kindliness,  scattered 
abroad,  yields  a  goodly  crop.  "  Virtue  is  its  own  re- 
ward," we  say.  Certainly,  and  the  virtuous  ask  no 
more.  But  virtue  is  also  a  good  investment  from 
which  tangible  returns  may  be  expected.  Accord- 
ingly, when  one  consecrates  his  time  and  talents  to 
the  Gospel  ministry,  while  he  is  sure  to  encounter 
difficulties  and  discouragements  innumerable,  he  may 
confidently  assume  that  his  wages  vdll  be  commen- 
surate. The  man  whom  God  calls  to  the  pulpit  has 
a  satisfaction  in  preaching,  which  amply  repays  him 
for  the  exhaustion  of  body  and  the  utter  weariness  of 
soul  in  which  his  work  is  sometimes  prosecuted.  Like 
his  Master,  for  the  joy  set  before  him,  he  endures  the 
Cross,  despising  the  shame. 

The  joy  of  preaching  is  the  joy  of  obedience. 
God's  purpose  is  the  evangelization  of  the  world. 
God's  instruments  in  this  sublime  enterprise  are  the 
disciples  of  His  Son — all  of  them.  We  have  no 
choice  in  the  matter.  "  Go  ye  and  preach,"  is  still 
the  direct  and  inclusive  command  of  Christ.  Nine- 
teen centuries  have  not  stripped  the  last  commission 
of  its  urgent  significance.  'No  follower  of  Jesus  es- 
capes the  obligation.  In  proportion  to  his  gifts  and 
opportunities,  each  must  proclaim  the  truth.  Some 
by  word  of  mouth,  some  by  generous  contributions, 
some  by  deeds  of  heroic  sacrifice,  and  all  by  con- 
sistent, Christ-like  lives,  will  publish  to  the  world  the 


The  Joy  of  Preaching.  71 

power  and  glory  of  the  Gospel.  With  many,  of 
course,  such  obedience  will  be,  as  one  might  say,  in- 
cidental. Sincere  and  splendid  no  doubt,  prompted 
by  a  heart  alive  with  love  for  God  and  man,  burning 
with  enthusiasm  for  the  kingdom,  yet  not  with  them 
the  main  business  of  life.  The  merchant's  engage- 
ments are  regulated  primarily  by  his  business;  the 
lawyer's,  by  the  interests  of  his  clients;  the  diplo- 
matist's, by  his  official  relations. 

The  activities  of  the  minister,  however,  are  deter- 
mined first  of  all  by  the  demands  of  the  pulpit. 
Preaching  is  his  business.  Immortal  souls  are  his 
clients.  As  an  ambassador  of  Christ  he  represents 
the  government  of  God,  and  negotiates  the  delicate 
diplomacy  of  the  Cross,  whereby  those  who  have  re- 
belled against  their  lawful  Sovereign,  are  brought 
back  to  the  old  service  and  allegiance.  This  is  the 
absorbing  occupation  of  his  days.  On  such  accom- 
plishment he  focuses  all  his  powers  of  mind  and 
spirit,  freely  offering  the  best  he  has  of  zeal  and 
energy,  careless  of  personal  comfort  and  advantage, 
eager  only  for  the  enlargement  of  the  kingdom  and 
the  reputation  of  the  King.  More  than  any  other, 
then,  he  will  be  solaced  by  the  joy  of  obedience.  He 
will  know  the  high  satisfaction  of  a  life  harmonized 
with  the  will  of  God,  of  an  ambition  which  runs  par- 
allel to  the  divine  purpose  of  Redemption,  of  a  con- 
science undisturbed  by  opportunities  neglected  and 
duties  unperformed.  God  has  a  right  not  only  to 
exact  of  us  the  best  service  we  can  render,  but  also 
to  indicate  the  lines  along  which  our  obligations  shall 


72  The  Joy  of  Preaching. 

be  met ;  and  there  is  a  peculiar  pleasure  in  the  feeling 
that  in  our  sympathies  and  efforts  we  are  at  one  with 
Him. 

The  joy  of  preaching  is  the  joy  of  doing  good. 
Obedience  pays  large  dividends,  first  in  its  reaction- 
ary influence,  and  then  in  the  results  generated.  It 
is  absurd  to  suppose  that  God  would  qualify  a  man 
for  preaching,  and  commission  him,  only  to  leave 
him  in  the  lurch.  It  is  His  work.  He  wants  it  done, 
and  we  are  entitled  to  assume  that  He  Avill  back  with 
His  omnipotence  all  honest  striving.  His  word  shall 
not  return  unto  Him  void.  ISTo  one  can  preach  the 
Cross  with  singleness  of  heart,  and  not  set  in  motion 
forces  which  will  operate  to  the  glory  of  God,  in  the 
reconstruction  of  sinners  and  the  ennoblement  of 
saints.  "  He  that  goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bearing 
precious  seed,  shall  doubtless  come  again  with  rejoic- 
ing, bringing  his  sheaves  with  him."  God  never  al- 
lows faithful  service  to  pass  without  some  adequate 
return.  It  pleases  him  "  by  the  foolishness  of  preach- 
ing to  save  them  that  believe."  Sometimes  the  out- 
come is  manifest  right  away,  sometimes  it  is  delayed 
indefinitely;  but  the  preacher  knows  that  sooner  or 
later  his  effort  is  bound  to  eventuate  in  something 
good,  something  well  worth  while.  Sustained  by  this 
confidence  he  labors  on,  though  never  permitted,  it 
may  be,  to  wield  the  sickle  where  he  dropped  the 
seed. 

Preaching  leads  men  to  Christ.  That  is  its  funda- 
mental purpose.  It  emphasizes  guilt,  predicts  the 
judgment,  premises  grace,  exalts  the  Crucified,  in- 


The  Joy  of  Preaching.  73 

terprets  redemption,  applies  the  Gospel,  invites  the 
sinner.  And  by  the  power  of  the  Spirit,  such  forceful 
presentation  of  the  truth  draws  men  away  from  the 
service  of  seK,  into  fellowship  with  God.  This  is  the 
divinely  appointed,  and  the  divinely  honored,  agency 
for  the  conversion  of  men,  the  depletion  of  the  king- 
dom of  evil,  and  the  increment  of  the  church. 

Preaching  rouses  Christians  and  equips  them  for 
the  conquest  of  the  world.  It  promotes  their  growth 
in  grace,  certainly,  but  not  so  much  by  holding  be- 
fore them  an  ideal,  as  by  setting  them  at  work.  It  is 
the  active,  rather  than  the  contemplative,  disciple 
who  puts  on  the  likeness  of  his  Lord.  Preaching 
which  does  not  stimulate  to  service,  will  contribute 
very  little  to  the  spiritual  enlargement  of  believers. 
Real  preaching  first  wins  the  sinner,  and  then  sends 
him  out  to  win  other  sinners;  and  while  urging  on 
them  the  truth  which  has  wrought  such  a  change  in 
him,  he  unconsciously  acquires  the  graces,  cultivates 
the  virtues  and  develops  the  excellencies  which  are 
so  clearly  exemplified  in  the  life  of  Christ.  Surely, 
when  the  preacher  considers  the  results  of  preach- 
ing, and  appreciates  that  he  is  an  integral  part  of  the 
beneficent  enterprise  which  has  already  revolution- 
ized the  world,  he  will  rejoice  that  God  has  selected 
him  to  be  a  herald  of  the  Cross. 

The  joy  of  preaching  is  the  joy  of  coming  victory. 
The  preacher  knows  not  only  that  his  own  exertions 
will  be  productive,  but  that  the  plan  of  salvation  in 
its  totality  will  some  day  be  realized.  He  under- 
stands that  he  is  enlisted  in  the  most  stupendous,  the 


74  The  Joy  of  Preaching. 

most  auspicious  movement  on  record.  What  factor 
is  more  potent  than  any  other  in  the  affairs  of  men 
to-day?  Imprisoned  steam?  Harnessed  lightning? 
Popular  government?  An  unfettered  press?  Not 
these,  but  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ.  Christianity 
is  no  longer  an  experiment.  It  has  reached  the  vigor 
of  mature  manhood,  and  now  challenges  the  atten- 
tion, commands  the  respect  and  solicits  the  allegiance 
of  the  world.  In  contrast  with  other  religions  it  is 
aggressive  and  successful.  It  is  the  true  explanation 
of  modem  progress,  the  only  hope  of  society,  the 
sole  reliance  of  the  race. 

And  indications  point  to  an  enormous  increase,  in 
both  the  dimensions  and  the  influence  of  the  king- 
dom. Its  mission  is  world-wide,  and  it  is  pushing  on. 
Every  decade  finds  men  more  deferential.  The  day 
is  coming  when  the  Church  will  dictate  social  cus- 
toms, commercial  methods,  governmental  policies; 
when  our  vexatious  industrial  problems  will  find  their 
true  solution  in  the  ethics  of  the  kingdom;  when 
science,  outgrowing  its  self-conceit,  and  learning  the 
modesty  of  mature  experience,  will  see  in  the  Word 
of  God  its  truest  friend,  and  in  the  Gospel  of  the 
Cross  its  mightiest  coadjutor.  The  struggle  between 
the  Church  and  the  world  is  a  struggle  to  the  death, 
but  God's  side  will  win,  and  the  kingdoms  of  this 
world  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  His 
Christ.  Then  those  who  labored  faithfully  will  have 
their  part  in  the  triumph  of  the  King.  This  is  the 
supreme  joy  of  .preaching,  to  know  that  one  is  help- 
ing forward  the  glad  day  of  God. 


Date  Due 

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